Protect Yourself with Fire Safety Equipment

Fire is an emergency that can happen at any time and in any place, and there will rarely be any forewarning of the event. Because of this unpredictability, damage from fire can be extensive and life threatening, cause losses to property and life and lead to serious injuries. Recovering from fire and getting back to normal life can be quite traumatic, and damage to property is quite often compounded by the efforts of putting out the fire. That is why it is estimated that there is more damage caused by water used to douse fires, than the fires themselves.

Be Warned

It can always be a sensible thing to do to be always prepared for any emergency caused by fire, by having the proper fire safety equipment in place, whether it be a residence, a commercial space or office premises. Fire safety equipment needs to have alarms, extinguishers, some tools and a first aid kit. Of this, the fire alarm is the most important, as a properly installed and functional fire alarm can help to save lives and property, because it will make all the people in the vicinity aware of the danger to the property. Fire alarms can be of many types and it is best decided on the threat perception within the property. Most fire alarms will set off loud sirens, while some that are linked to monitoring companies, will also simultaneously alert police and fire brigades. Some alarms are designed to be set off with the slightest increase in temperature or even a hint of smoke that precedes fires. They can also be coupled to sprinkler systems that get automatically activated, when any danger is anticipated.

Extinguishing fires

While fire alarms can act to warn people of impending danger, fire extinguishers can be used to actually tackle the fire, dowse it, or at least keep it under control, till firefighters and professionals trained to deal with fires, arrive. There can be many ways of extinguishing fires, by using sand, by using foam and chemicals or by the use of water. Most well equipped fire safety equipment will feature all the three, and it is not uncommon to find sand buckets, wall mounted fire chemical extinguishers, and fire hydrants and hoses all as part of the equipment for a fire safety system. Most authorities who give permissions for building occupation will insist on inspecting such fire safety equipment and allow people to live in them only if the proper standards are in place for ensuring fire safety.